Burlington Tramway (Vermont)
The tram Burlington was a tram service in and around the city of Burlington in US -Bundesstaat Vermont .
history
Horse tram
As early as 1872, the Winooski and Burlington Horse Railroad Company was the first company in the state of Vermont to receive a concession to build a tram. She was allowed to build horse-drawn railroad tracks in the streets of Winooski and Burlington. Although the route from Winooski to Burlington did not go into operation until November 15, 1885, it was Vermont's first tram service. The route began on College Street / Lake Street at the Central Vermont Railroad station . It led through Lake Street, Main Street, Church Street, Pearl Street, North Winooski Avenue and Riverside Avenue to Winooski. Here it crossed the Winooski River on Colchester Avenue and led through Main Street and West Allen Street to the train station. The depot was near the intersection of North Winooski Avenue and Riverside Avenue, roughly in the middle of the route.
In early 1889, a branch from Church Street / Pearl Street in Burlington via Pearl Street, North Champlain Street, North Street and North Avenue to Lakeview Cemetery went into operation. Shortly thereafter, a connecting route from North Winooski Avenue through North Street to North Champlain Street was opened and the only a few months old route in Pearl Street and North Champlain Street was dismantled. In mid-June 1889, the railway company also started operations on the line to the cotton factory. It ran down Pine Street from Main Street to Kilburn Street.
Electrification and further network expansion
On September 5, 1893, two more routes went into operation. One ran from Main Street / Church Street through Main Street, South Union Street and Shelburne Road to Park Avenue (now Flynn Avenue), which was a circus venue. The Pine Street line was also extended to Park Avenue at the same time. On the same day, all lines in Burlington began to operate electrically, only the route from the depot to Winooski was operated by horses until 1896. In 1896 a second line was opened to Winooski. It began on Pearl Street and led over this and Colchester Avenue, Chase Street, Barrett Street and again through Colchester Avenue to the bridge in Winooski, where it led over the existing stretch to the train station. Also in 1896 the cemetery line was extended to Institute Road. The company's name was changed to Burlington Traction Company (BTC) on November 11, 1896 .
On August 1, 1899, the line was extended to the south by the Shelburne Road, it led through the Shelburne Road to the south of Home Avenue, on its own railroad over the Pine Street and Queen City Park Road to the terminus in front of the Bellows railway line , which passed here Falls – Burlington across from Queen City Park. A pedestrian bridge over the railway made the connection to the park. The route from Shelburne Road to Queen City Park was only served in the summer season.
In 1905 the North Avenue Line was extended to Ethan Allen Park . In 1915 and 1922 the line in Winooski was extended a short distance closer to the station. The total length of the BTC routes was around 19 kilometers.
Military Post Street Railway
At the beginning of 1895 a second company put a horse-drawn tram into operation. The Military Post Street Railway was founded in 1894 by the Burlington tram. The route began in Winooski on Main Street north of the railroad and ran through it and through Spring Street and College Parkway to Fort Ethan Allen. In July 1895 it was extended by Pearl Street to Essex Junction station. The Central Vermont Railroad denied trams the use of the flyover on Main Street in Winooski and posted guards at the flyover to prevent the laying of tracks. However, one night the workers of the railway company overpowered the guards and quickly laid the tracks. In 1896 the line was electrified and on July 27 of that year the Burlington Traction Company took over operations. The trains between Winooski and Essex Junction ran every 40 minutes, and more frequently when there was a lot of traffic. They usually drove through to Queen City Park in Burlington.
Shutdown
From the early 1920s, passenger numbers continued to decline after many people switched to private cars. The summer route from Circus Square to Queen City Park was closed as early as 1926. On November 4, 1927, the bridge over the Winooski River in Winooski collapsed during a flood. A makeshift pontoon bridge was built without tracks and passengers had to cross it on foot. The new bridge only went into operation after a few months. A bus operator bought the Burlington Traction Company in 1929 and ceased all tram operations on August 4th. At the intersection of Main Street and St. Paul Street in Burlington, one of the oldest railcars was solemnly burned down in front of several thousand gathered. Buses took over the transport duties on the following day.
literature
- Robert C. Jones: Railroads of Vermont, Volume I. New England Press Inc., 1993. ISBN 1-881535-01-0 .